Summer is turning to fall

Wow, this summer has truly been a whirlwind. It is like I blinked, and here we are, three weeks away from school starting up again.

Jonathan earned an 8.5% raise as well as a title promotion, and I am so proud of him. He turned in his two week resignation at his part time job, and will have a lot more free time this fall to bike, try new recipes and finish projects around the house. (Like finish staining the deck; a project that began last October and we never got around to finishing!)

My summer internship doing international tax at a large multinational here in St. Louis has been great. I have learned so much about tax, working full time, myself, and the world in just three short months. I have also grown to appreciate the freedom and flexibility that I get at school. I have loved my internship, but I am glad I have two more years to be a student and to be somewhat free to travel, to explore, and to grow. I know that I have matured a lot and will be ready to take on an office job when I get out of school. But students really do have the good life in so many ways and I am fortunate to have the ability and the means to continue my education.

Part of that flexibility means travelling. Jonathan and I are taking a week long trip to Disney World to cap off the summer! I plan on going to Sweden for Christmas, and am hoping that I can convince at least my mom (possibly also my dad) to come with me! My sister will be studying abroad in Sweden until the end of January, and I would love to see her and to see Sweden. I know it will be crazy cold, but I’ve heard it will also be quite festive! Finally, Jonathan and I are planning to go to Boston to meet our new niece or nephew in May!

Several of our friends and family members are expecting! I am so excited for all of the beautiful children that will be brought into our lives. I will be an aunt for the fifth time, and my parents are going to be grandparents! It is hard to imagine my parents being grandparents! It is such a joy-filled time in our lives to see our friends taking this next step and embarking on the journey of parenthood.

Speaking of family and friends, we have had such a great summer with so many visitors. I reconnected with a good friend from college and she came out to visit me right as summer started! We had a great time and I hope to visit her back! Jonathan’s sisters each came through here with their families, and his little brother visited with us for a week. My parents visited at the beginning of summer, and just recently my older sister visited. I also drove down to Cape Girardeau to meet one of my bridesmaids halfway between myself in St. Louis and her home in Memphis. It was a short but wonderful visit!

And that has been our summer! We have furniture being delivered tonight and people coming over for dinner this evening. So I better end this entry now and get busy!

The Best Laid Plans

It seems that story after story of marriage includes things going wrong. You save for that big vacation and then the air condition goes out. You plan a fancy date, and then your husband has to work late. Etc, etc.

Here is ours: We planned a nice anniversary date. We were going to go listen to a Frank Sinatra cover concert in the park, and then go to our favorite Italian restaurant. It was going to be sweet and romantic.

Then, I got sick. I spent all day puking my guts up. There goes any chance of a romantic anniversary date. Not only did I miss an amazing opportunity at work, but I also ruined our two-year anniversary.

That’s when Jonathan saved the day. He knew I was not only feeling bad because I was sick, but that I was incredibly disappointed about work and about our date. He came home at lunch, and worked from home so he could spend time with me. He brought me a beautiful flower bouquet with an anniversary balloon. And we spent our anniversary doing what should be done on anniversaries. Spending time together and sharing our love with each other.

Anniversaries aren’t about fancy dates. Anniversaries are about celebrating making the decision to love each other, to stay beside each other, and to care for and about each other. Being sick didn’t ruin our anniversary, it just gave my adorable husband the chance to remind me what being married is really about.

So, here’s to two years of being married to my best friend. And hopefully next time, our anniversary won’t involve puking.

Let the summer of fun commence!

First, thanks, Jonathan, for posting those car pictures! I was very busy studying for exams and finishing up school projects.

I finished my last exam Thursday night around 8 p.m., and came home to a very messy house, a very sweet husband, and a very relaxing feeling. Jonathan took me over to Applebee’s for a celebratory “You-finished!” dinner. It was great.

We’ve got some really busy weekends coming up. Next weekend, Shannon, a friend of mine from USC, is coming to visit! I’m incredibly excited as I haven’t seen her in two years! I can’t wait to show her around St. Louis and hang out! The weekend after that, my parents are visiting, and the weekend after that I am either going to South Carolina to see my grandmother, or to Oklahoma to see Jonathan’s sisters and their families.

And I start my job in a little over a week, so that is exciting as well.

We have a lot of fun events to look forward to this summer, too. We’ve got tickets to see Wicked in July, an anniversary coming up, a trip to West Virginia/Ohio in June, a girl’s night at a jewelry-making class in June, and hopefully some camping or a lake trip at some point as well!

I’ve taken this next week off. No school and no work, so I can just relax a bit! I want to get our house back in order, and start sorting out stuff that we don’t need any longer to see in the city-wide garage sale.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this summer!